L-10: Holding Conferral of a Degree for Disciplinary Reasons

On occasion, the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) may receive a report of serious misconduct by a student who may be close to graduation. When the case has the potential for a conduct sanction that may include separation from the University, the OSC Senior Director may place a hold on the student's degree conferment until the conduct process is complete. If the student is found responsible for the behavior and the student's sanction includes a separation from the University, the student will not have their degree conferred until the sanction is completed. In those instances in which the student has received a sanction of expulsion, the student will never be eligible to have a degree conferred.

The Office of Student Conduct will notify the Office of the University Registrar and the College of enrollment of a decision to place a hold on the conferral of a degree for conduct reasons. Student Conduct will take appropriate action to record the sanctions on internal working documents and on the student's transcript, and the College of enrollment will remove the graduation approval indicator in the student information system.

The Office of Student Conduct will be responsible for tracking students whose graduations were delayed for conduct reasons. When the sanction is completed, the Office of Student Conduct will remove the transcript notations and notify the student, the College of enrollment, and the Office of the University Registrar. The student is then permitted to request re-enrollment for graduation and the standard graduation check-out/approval process will occur. Assuming that the College approves the student for graduation, the degree will be conferred at the end of the semester in which the student re-enrolls.

In those cases where the outcome of the conduct process results in a sanction that is less than a separation, the Office of Student Conduct may recommend that the student receive a degree conferment dated with their original graduation date upon the successful completion of the sanction. In these situations, the student would not need to seek re-enrollment for degree conferment.

Revisions: 

Approved: ACUE (6-3-10)
Revised: Editorial (1-12-12)
Revised: ACUE (11-1-18)